Ash gets £5m payout

17th January 2008

The actress Leslie Ash has won a record £5m compensation payout after contracting the hospital-acquired infection MSSA (Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus).

The 47-year-old contracted the infection at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London in 2004 and the payment includes compensation for the amount Ms Ash, who now has to walk with a stick, would have earned if she had carried on working. The hospital has apologised to Ms Ash. The NHS Litigation Authority said the compensation was the highest yet paid following a hospital-acquired infection.